1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens front cap module and an image pickup apparatus of the lens front cap module, and more particularly to lens front cap module and the image pickup apparatus of the lens front cap module having a focusing barrel to drive the lens vane to be shielded or unshielded.
2. Description of the Related Art
As photography becomes increasingly more popular, more and more people use cameras to record details of their life, and consumers seek for a lighter, thinner, shorter and smaller design of the camera, so that they can record their moods anytime and anywhere, and a finer and more user-friendly digital camera is required. Therefore, it is an important subject for major camera manufacturers to produce a camera with smaller volume and more functions. However, it is a challenge and a mission for research and development engineers to implement additional functions to a digital camera within a relatively small available space of the camera.
In most of the conventional designs for shielding and un-shielding the lens front cap, a guide slot, a zooming barrel, a fixed barrel or a driving unit is used for driving the lens front cap module to shield and un-shield a lens vane. However, if the conventional guide slot is used for driving the lens front cap module, the structure will be too complicated, such that the molds cannot be used for manufacturing products with the light, thin, short and compact design. If the zooming barrel is used for driving, the barrel will become relatively small, so that the camera cannot be operated at a tele-end. If the fixed barrel is used for driving, the driving pin of the lens front cap module will be too long, and may be deformed easily to cause damages to the lens front cap module. If a driving unit is installed additionally, then a larger interior space of the camera will be needed, so that the overall cost of the camera will be increased. Therefore, designing an ideal lens front cap module to achieve the light, thin, short and compact effect of the camera and overcome the issue of driving the lens front cap module demands immediate attentions and feasible solutions.
Therefore, the inventor of the present invention designed a lens front cap module and an image pickup apparatus thereof to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and improve the industrial applications.